Koo -- the made-in-India rival of Twitter -- will not charge users for a verification badge, its co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna said as he took on the larger rival for allegedly first creating bots and now charging users for verification. Koo, which allows users to express views in Indian languages, has already crossed 50 million downloads and is now flying into the rival's nest, starting a campaign on Twitter by making itself prominently visible on verified handles and offering them better deals on its platform at no cost. Since taking over Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk has set in motion massive changes, sacking employees and talking of levying a $8 charge for 'verified' handles.
Twitter on Friday temporarily blocked IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's account for alleged violation of the US Copyright Act, a move that the minister slammed as being arbitrary and gross violation of IT rules.
A bench headed by acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi, which was hearing a petition against the allegedly obnoxious posts on Maa Kali by user 'AtheistRepublic', directed Twitter to explain how it undertakes the blocking of accounts.
The apex court also directed the Centre to produce original records relating to take down order.
The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) Thursday urged the government to 'exempt and exclude' the traditional television news media and its extended presence on the digital news platforms from the ambit of the IT Rules 2021, saying it is already 'sufficiently regulated' by various statutes, laws, guidelines, codes and regulations.
Under the rules, media companies or their associations have to form self-regulatory bodies which would be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or high courts or an eminent person.
There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.
In June, Google received 36,265 complaints - the highest till now - from individual users located in India via designated mechanisms. It removed 83,613 pieces of content as a result of user complaints in the said month.
The government has refused to exempt the digital news content of mainstream television channels and print media from the ambit of the the IT Rules, 2021 and asked them to take 'urgent steps' to comply with the provisions of the digital media rules immediately.
India has to put in place legislation and rules which seek more clarity and transparency from technology companies. Domestic and global companies that use consumer behaviour data to enhance addictive behaviour must be scrutinised and controlled. Currently the intermediary guidelines focus mostly on content management and grievance redressal. However, the underlying software engines that influence online consumer behaviour need oversight, too.
While most brokers have upgraded their backend systems to trade, their front-end systems have not been upgraded. They are not compliant with Sebi's interop circular of November 2018 and no one seems to be either aware of this, nor has anything been done about it so far, explains Debashis Basu.
'Under Section 79 of the IT Act, Facebook is mandated to exercise care. Once you have a duty, you do not have the right to silence; you need to show compliance.'
The Madras high court on Friday granted 10 more days to the Centre to file its counter-affidavit in response to a batch of PIL pleas challenging the new Information Technology (IT) Rules.
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The 'in substance' agreement with India under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was concluded on April 11, the US Treasury said.
The Bombay high court on Saturday granted an interim stay to the operation of parts of the recently notified Information Technology Rules, 2021 which require that all online publishers follow a "code of ethics" and norms of conduct.
The high court pointed out that only an interim RGO was appointed by Twitter and a wrong impression was given to the court on May 31 as it was not informed that the appointment was on interim basis.
Asked about action taken against those spreading fake news, and publishers of anti-national material, he said more than 60 accounts have been blocked including those on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Twitter has 'withheld' about 35 tweets following a legal request from the Indian government, as per information on the Lumen database.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) on Monday announced the appointment of former Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramjit Sen as the Chairman of its newly formed self-regulatory body Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC).
Justice Rekha Palli noted that while the rules mandated appointment of a key managerial person or a senior employee as CCO, Twitter disclosed in its affidavit that it had appointed a 'contingent worker' through a third party contractor.
The affidavit further said that the IT Rules impose a host of obligations on a company in relation to the security of the data collected by it in the course of its business.
Google received over 27,700 complaints in April this year from individual users in India over alleged violation of local laws or personal rights, which resulted in the removal of 59,350 pieces of content, the company said in its maiden monthly transparency report.
Twitter has 'withheld' 50 tweets related to a communally sensitive video clip of an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on the microblogging platform, according to sources.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued guidelines that will allow car dealers to become Motor Insurance Service Providers (MISP) and offer the policies of multiple general insurers, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.
"Employees should be directed that any market-related news received by them either in their official mail/personal mail/blog or in any other manner should be forwarded only after the same has been seen and approved by the concerned intermediary's compliance officer....The compliance officer shall also be held liable for breach of duty in this regard," SEBI said in an addendum.
Following the money and freezing anything unaccounted is the only way to set an example for others, suggests Debashis Basu.
The noted culture and political commentator sought the court to declare the new rules ultra vires of the Constitution and the parent Information Technology Act, as these norms, among other things, imposes a 'chilling effect' on free speech and are vague and indeterminate.
Currently, banks follow system of internal benchmarks, including Prime Lending Rate, Benchmark Prime Lending Rate, Base rate and Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a statewide curfew for 15 days from 8 am on April 14 to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus in its second wave. With Section 144 being imposed across the state, Thackeray essential services have been exempted from the restrictions. The curfew will be in place till 7 am on May 1.
The Indian market regulator had revamped the FPI regulations in 2014 giving custodians the mandate to collect and verify the KYC documentation of offshore investors
The company is a facilitator of taxis (therefore an intermediary) and is best governed under the IT Act said Neeraj Singhal, Uber's head of expansion in India.
Under Sebi guidelines, AIFs can operate broadly in three categories.
KYC done while opening a bank account can be used to open a mutual fund account.
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A non-compliance with FATCA entails 30 per cent withholding tax on certain US source payments.
Customers should be fully aware of what their policy covers and should follow claim procedures meticulously, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.
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